After becoming rich overnight, I handed over the system.

End of Chapter 408

"Impossible!" Cheng Hai exclaimed, "We clearly deactivated—"

"The backup system!" Yu Yang realized. "Mori must have activated manual control!"

The holographic screen switches to the external monitoring view.

The armored top cover of the central platform is opening, and the launcher for the gene bomb is slowly rising.

倒计时显示：00:03:00... 02:59... 02:58...

"Three minutes!" the Minister of Science and Technology screamed. "We can't stop it in time!"

Cheng Hai suddenly turned and rushed outside, shouting, "No, it's not too late!"

Yu Yang followed closely: "What are your plans?"

"No plan!" Cheng Hai shouted as he ran. "We just jump down and grab that damn bomb!"

As they rushed to the edge of the platform, the gene bomb had already been ignited and launched into the air, hurtling towards the sea with a destructive blue light.

Without hesitation, Cheng Hai leaped off the platform, his mutated left arm outstretched as if to grab the speeding missile with his bare hands.

"Cheng Hai! No!" Yu Yang's shouts were drowned out by the roar of the engine.

At this critical moment, the sea suddenly burst open.

A gigantic figure soared into the air—it was Leviathan!

It precisely intercepted the gene bomb, caught it in its mouth, and immediately turned and swooped back into the sea.

Cheng Hai landed on the giant beast's back and gripped a protruding scale tightly.

"He did it!" Yu Yang murmured in disbelief.

But the danger is not over yet.

监控画面显示基因炸弹虽然被带离，倒计时仍在继续——00:01:30... 01:29...

"Water pressure can delay, but not prevent, the explosion!" the Minister of Science and Technology shouted. "It needs to be completely dismantled!"

Yu Yang rushed to the dock and jumped onto a speedboat: "Give me the exact coordinates!"

The tracking signals from Leviathan and Cheng Hai indicate that they are heading towards the vicinity of the underwater volcano, which is the location of their previous research station.

Yu Yang pushed the speedboat to its limit while simultaneously calling out through the communicator: "Cheng Hai! Can you hear me? The bomb must be completely defused! The code is the initial sequence of the Noah Project!"

Only electrostatic noise responded.

When the speedboat arrived at the signal area, bubbles had already begun to rise to the surface of the sea, and Leviathan was releasing energy from below to heat the water as a signal.

Yu Yang took a deep breath, activated the armor's full diving mode, and jumped into the water.

Near the underwater volcano, Leviathan's massive body coiled above the research station, still holding a gene bomb in its mouth.

Cheng Hai was working on the bomb casing, blue blood seeping from multiple wounds, clearly indicating that the dismantling process was not going smoothly.

As Yu Yang swam closer, he saw the countdown: 00:00:45...

"The password isn't working!" Cheng Hai's voice came through the water. "Maurice has modified the core program!"

Yu Yang inspected the bomb's interface: "No, he just added an outer shell to help stabilize this panel!"

The two worked together to remove the protective shield, revealing the original control panel.

Yu Yang entered the ultimate password from his father's log: the coordinates of his childhood home's front door.

The system flashes, prompting: "Please enter biometric verification."

“Damn it! They need my father’s retina or fingerprints!” Yu Yang said in despair.

Cheng Hai suddenly pointed to the research station: "Over there! The place where your father worked, maybe it'll be there!"

Countdown: 00:00:30...

They swam into the research station as fast as they could.

Yu Yang went straight to the console his father used to use, pressed the fingerprint scanner, hoping that there would still be cells left after more than ten years.

"Verification failed."

"Try again! Use a different angle!"

00:00:15...

On the third attempt, the scanner finally lit up with a green light: "Dr. John Yu, authorization confirmed."

The countdown stopped at 00:00:07.

The two collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.

Leviathan gently swayed its tail fin outside, as if in celebration.

The communicator suddenly rang. It was Xiaolin: "Dr. Yu! Engineer Cheng! How are you? The council has voted to remove Mori from office! Security forces are conducting a full-scale manhunt for members of the Ocean Creatures! New Atlantis hopes to negotiate with the Abyss!"

Yu Yang and Cheng Hai exchanged a smile.

Through the observation window of the research station, they saw Leviathan swimming slowly, surrounded by various marine creatures.

Some are natural species, while others clearly show signs of genetic modification.

Further away, a blue-skinned Newtype reconnaissance team could be vaguely seen cautiously approaching.

"It seems our work has only just begun, old friend." Cheng Hai extended his right hand, the human one.

Yu Yang grasped it, then lifted Cheng Hai's mutated left arm to examine it closely: "The scales have darkened in color. Does it still hurt?"

Cheng Hai shook his head: "No, now it feels natural. Just like it was meant to be."

He looked out at the ocean. "Perhaps we are too."

The communicator rang again, this time it was Victor Lane's voice: "Yu Yang! Cheng Hai! If you can hear me, Haiyuan has been recaptured. Karl escaped in the chaos, but his control network has been destroyed. Leviathan, thank you for releasing it."

Yu Yang responded: "The cost is high, but it's worth it. New Atlantis is prepared to negotiate."

“I suspect,” Ryan said with a laugh, “that you would be our preferred ambassador?”

Yu Yang looked at Cheng Hai, who shrugged and made an exaggerated "go ahead" gesture with his mutated left arm.

“No,” Yu Yang replied, “we have a better candidate. Someone who truly understands both worlds.”

Cheng Hai pointed at himself in surprise: "Me?"

"Who's more suitable than you?" Yu Yang laughed. "Born on land, adapted to aquatic life, and can even chat with Leviathan."

After the communication ended, the two surfaced.

In the east, the first rays of sunlight pierce through the clouds and fall upon the waves.

This is not the end, Yu Yang knows. Karl is still on the run, the remaining forces of the ocean creatures have not yet been eradicated, and the road to merging the two worlds is long and arduous.

But at this moment, in this morning light, there is hope—like the gills and lungs that function harmoniously within him, like Cheng Hai's body, which belongs neither to land nor sea yet is perfectly self-consistent.

Humanity will eventually find a way to coexist with the ocean.

And they will be the witnesses and guides of this new era.

Afterwards, Yu Yang returned to New Atlantis and told Cheng Hai about the Earth Fruit incident.

"Old Yu, it has to be you, the chosen one!" Cheng Hai was dumbfounded.

But then he thought about it, and since new humans have already emerged, it doesn't seem so special that another person from another world would appear.

However, he was quite curious about this earth fruit.

Yu Yang was generous and gave him a few to play with.

"Crack! Crack!"

"This is so much fun!" Cheng Hai, like a child who had discovered a new toy, kept throwing the clay fruit, watching it go from a ball shape to a puddle of dirt with each throw.

Seeing Cheng Hai jumping around excitedly, Yu Yang smiled too. They both have bright futures, don't they?